Vancouver, which lost to the Boston Bruins in the seventh game of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, will be the Flyers’ formidable opponent when the Orange and Black open the home portion of their season Wednesday at 7:30 p.m..

Sam Carchidi, Inquirer Staff Writer

Posted:
Wednesday, October 12, 2011, 11:23 AM

Vancouver, which lost to the Boston Bruins in the seventh game of last year’s Stanley Cup Finals, will be the Flyers’ formidable opponent when the Orange and Black open the home portion of their season Wednesday at 7:30 p.m..

The Flyers are 2-0; Vancouver is 1-0-1.

“I liked the improvement from Game 1 to Game 2,” said Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, whose team started with a 2-1 win in Boston, then defeated New Jersey, 3-0.

The Canucks “have been a top team for a couple years, so it’s a chance to go against a good skating team and see where we go,” Laviolette said.

The Flyers, thanks to numerous summer changes, are a much faster team than last season.

The Flyers’ defensive attention will be on the high-scoring Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel. Henrik suffered a hip injury in the Canucks’ last game, but he told Vancouver reporters he plans to play Wednesday night.

Ilya Bryzgalov will oppose the Canucks’ Roberto Luongo in a matchup of two of the NHL’s best goalies. The Flyers are expected to use the same lineup as in the first two games.

About 200 tickets remain for the gamexx.

The Flyers traded Stefan Legein and a 2012 sixth-round draft pick to the Kings for future considerations. That gives the Flyers 49 contracts, one under the maximum, and opens a spot for Sean Couturier if he plays in his 11th game.

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Breakaways. The Flyers are 68-29-13 all-time against Vancouver. They have lost their last two games against the Canucks _ 6-2 last year in Vancouver and 3-0 at the Wells Fargo Center the previous season.....In 22 career games against the Canucks, Jaromir Jagr has 12 goals and 19 assists.

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Follow Sam Carchidi on Twitter @BroadStBull.

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